North Andover girls skiing team working for fifth undefeated season, boys push for second place

Wednesday

Jan 10, 2018 at 4:02 PMJan 10, 2018 at 4:02 PM

Joshua Boyd jboyd@wickedlocal.com

North Andover High School students love skiing – that can certainly be said for 52 Scarlet Knights athletes, who have come out for the 2017-18 alpine skiing season.

The Scarlet Knights, undefeated champions of the girls side of the North Shore Ski League for the last four years, started out with two wins on Jan. 8.

They defeated Haverhill, 110-25, and Andover, 84.5-50.5.

The boys’ side of the league consists of St. John’s Prep (undefeated champions since 2012) and everyone else, and head coach Jerry Marchegiani knows that full well.

"They took the first six spots of the race against every other team, so it’s not just us," said Marchegiani. "[On the girls side], we have a very strong team. We put four girls in the top 10, and we really should have put a fifth one there. We can be that much stronger."

The Scarlet Knights girls team brings back last year’s top two racers, sisters Maria and Rachel Cavallaro.

"They are both captains and seniors, and they are outstanding captains," said Marchegiani. "They are two of the best and finest individuals I have ever had the privilege to coach."

The Cavallaro sisters formerly raced at Gunstock Mountain in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire.

"It’s their senior year now and there are so many other things on their plate, so they’re not doing any training [up north]," said Marchegiani.

He wasn’t sure if they have plans to ski in college, but Marchegiani added that "[college athletics] is a big time commitment.

"They’re both outstanding students and they know where their bread is buttered," Marchegiani said.

The Cavallaro sisters finished third and fourth overall in the league opener (and second and third overall against their opponents for the day). Maria, the 2017 NSSL champion, finished at 22.81 seconds and Rachel was in at 22.87.

Sophie Killilea returns to the Scarlet Knights along with the Cavallaro sisters. Although she finished 20th in the first NSSL meet of the year, Marchegiani expects her to be a regular top 15 finisher among the league.

Getting into the top 10 for their first time are newcomer freshmen Jane Freund and Sydney Schwalm.

"The fact that, as freshmen, they finished top 10 in the league says something about their ability," said Marchegiani.

Freund was sixth in the league at 23.19 seconds, finishing third against Haverhill and fourth against Andover. Schwalm was tied for eighth in the NSSL at 23.28, fourth and fifth against the day’s competitors.

"Jane has won some prestigious races in her age category up north," said Marchegiani. "Even though you race up north, there is a learning curve adjusting to the particular chemistry of racing with older kids. Their ability will only get better as they get more confidence and believe ‘I can hold my own here.’"

This year, there are 24 members of the girls team, and there are 28 members of the boys team.

"Ideally I like to have low 20s, so 28 is large, but you never look a gift horse in the mouth," said Marchegiani. "With numbers come decent athletes in the group."

The boys do have some decent athletes, but it’s tough to gauge just how good they might be against a powerhouse like St. John’s Prep. The Eagles defeated North Andover, 107.5-27.5 in the Jan. 9 NSSL boys opener. The Scarlet Knights beat Manchester Essex, 102-33.

"It is what it is, and you do your best," said Marchegiani. "Everyone else in the league is really competitive."

Senior captain Cole Masterson was 14th overall in the league, and seventh against the Prep, at 22.68 seconds.

Alex Martel came in a tie for 16th in the NSSL at 22.77 seconds, followed by Zach Wolmering (19th, 22.89) and Mitchell Flaherty (20th, 22.92).

"We have some boys returning and we have a few new faces, but I don’t know how they’ll do," said Marchegiani.

As of Jan. 10, there were still six races for each team to find out just what these North Andover skiers can accomplish.